John Phillips: John Phillips (John, The Wolf King of L.A.) : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Five years before director Hal Ashby set his Watergate-era film Shampoo in a glam Los Angeles of angst and blow jobs, the late Mamas and the Papas founder John Phillips released this solo debut about hot Hollywood wives, "Topanga Canyon" and "Malibu People." The 1970 disc was greeted with shrugs. But the music holds up just as well as Phillips' prophetic picture of hip Hollywood. He brought in L.A. studio guys like drummer Hal Blaine as well as people like James Burton, famed for his guitar work with Elvis Presley and Ricky Nelson. The songs thrive on dramatic harmonies, arresting melodies, Phillips' smooth, South Carolina-sired hippie crooning, country touches, and background vocals from the Blossoms, led by the inimitable Darlene Love. Elvis himself wanted to record "Mississippi" (his dictatorial manager, Colonel Tom Parker, said no). This sensitively remastered reissue amounts to a genuine lost treasure.